Researchers demonstrate megawatt-class Ga₂0₃ module
An engineering research team from the University of Hong Kong led by Yuhao Zhang, in collaboration with Guo-Quan Lu (Virginia Tech) and Jiandong Ye (Nanjing University), has achieved a breakthrough in ultrawide-bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor-based power electronics.
The team demonstrated a megawatt-class Ga2O3 power module capable of continuous pulsed switching at 1000 V and 1000 A, enhancing the power capacity of UWBG power electronics by over two orders of magnitude and achieving improvement over the silicon and wide-bandgap counterpart. The work, titled 'A megawatt ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor module for pulsed power electronics', is published in Nature Communications.
While WBG semiconductor technologies have significantly advanced power electronics, UWBG materials like Ga2O3 offer even higher theoretical limits. However, their practical power capability has remained at the kilowatt level for a decade due to material and device non-uniformities and challenges in packaging.
To address this, the team developed a device-package co-optimisation strategy for UWBG materials targeting novel pulsed power electronics in healthcare, grid, and fusion applications, where devices must handle extreme voltage and current within microsecond timescales. This application best builds on Ga2O3's unique properties including high volumetric heat capacity and thermal stability, as the transient heating in such pulsed power systems is dominated by volumetric heat capacity.
The team has unveiled a junction-side cooling architecture integrated with a high-permittivity interface, breaking previous performance limits for Ga2O3 electronics. By using the polarisation effect of high-permittivity layers, the team has redistributed electric fields, simultaneously boosting breakdown voltages and slashing thermal resistance.
In a landmark demonstration, a single submodule sustained pulsed currents of 234 A at 1 kV, enduring extreme junction temperatures above 250°C. Scaling this innovation, the team developed a six-die integrated module capable of continuous 1000 V / 1000 A switching at 1 kHz—marking the first-ever UWBG multi-chip module to reach megawatt-level power capacity. With ultra-fast switching (~23 ns) and near-zero reverse recovery, this device-package co-design provides a clear, scalable roadmap for the future of high-power, high-efficiency energy systems, according to the researchers.
This research builds on the group’s prior work in electro-thermo-mechanical device-package co-design, which has received significant traction. A previous iteration of this multi-physics approach was selected as a Technical Highlight at the 2025 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM).
Pictured above: Pulsed power applications, material selection, as well as device and package designs.
